The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Substrate processing systems may be used to treat substrates such as semiconductor wafers. Example processes that may be performed on a substrate include, but are not limited to, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), conductor etch, and/or other etch, deposition, or cleaning processes. A substrate may be arranged on a substrate support, such as a pedestal, an electrostatic chuck (ESC), etc. in a processing chamber of the substrate processing system. During etching, gas mixtures including one or more precursors may be introduced into the processing chamber and plasma may be used to initiate chemical reactions.
The substrate support may include a ceramic layer arranged to support a substrate. For example, the substrate may be clamped to the ceramic layer during processing. The substrate support may include a plurality of pin lifter assemblies arranged to lift or raise the substrate relative to the ceramic layer for retrieval, and/or to lower the substrate onto the ceramic layer. For example, each pin lifter assembly includes a pin (which may also be referred to as a “lift pin,” “pin lifter,” “lifter pin,” etc.). The substrate support includes one or more actuators configured to selectively raise and lower the pins.